In der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhundert war das wissenschaftliche Leben vor allem von der zunehmenden Spezialisierung der Forschung geprägt. Disziplinen entwickelten sich auseinander. Traditionelle Tagungsformen betrieben zwar mit der Darstellung einzelner Forschungsfortschritte die Entwicklung der jeweiligen Fächer, boten aber selten Gelegenheit zum Gedankenaustausch über die Grenzen des Faches hinweg. Angesichts der wachsenden Komplexität wissenschaftlicher Problemstellungen empfanden viele Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler dies als Defizit.

Die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft und der Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft engagierten sich deshalb schon Anfang der 70er Jahre des letzten Jahrhunderts, um einen neuen Ansatz für den internationalen und interdisziplinären wissenschaftlichen Austausch zu finden und den Bedürfnissen vieler Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler nach einem ebenso fachlich fundierten wie kreativen Forum entgegenzukommen.

Daher schuf man 1974 mit den Dahlem Konferenzen® eine neue wissenschaftliche Veranstaltungsform – das „Dahlem Workshop Modell“. Benannt wurden die Workshops nach dem Berliner Bezirk Dahlem, in dem die Workshops stattfinden. Seit vielen Jahrzehnten sind in Dahlem hochrangige wissenschaftliche Institutionen angesiedelt. Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts war der Bezirk der Sitz des Kaiser-Wilhelm-Instituts, an dem z.B. Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Fritz Haber und Otto Hahn forschten. Heute befinden sich hier neben der Freien Universität Berlin mehrere Max-Planck-Institute, wissenschaftliche Bundesanstalten, das Zuse-Zentrum sowie Museen und Sammlungen.

Das „Dahlem Workshop Modell“ fand schnell internationale Anerkennung und wurde nicht nur zum Vorbild für die Tagungskultur der folgenden Jahre. Themen und Ergebnisse setzten klare Signale für die zukünftige wissenschaftliche Agenda – so die Workshops „The Nature of Seawater“ (1975),  „Pain and Society“ (1979), „The Changing Atmosphere“ (1987) oder „Molecular Aspects of Aging“ (1994) und „Sustainability or Collapse? An Integrated History and Future of People on Earth” (2005).

Der inhaltliche Fokus lag zunächst vor allem in den Bereichen Life Sciences und Earth Sciences – und wurde dann auf die Kulturwissenschaften erweitert. Von 1990 bis 2012 waren die Dahlem Konferenzen® integraler Bestandteil der Freien Universität Berlin.

Bislang haben folgende Workshops stattgefunden:

• # 102
  2012 Sep 2nd-5th
  Optogenetics. Challenges and Perspectives.

• # 101
  2011 Mar 21-25
  Knowledge Domination and the Public in Africa
  Richard Rottenburg, Sandra E. Greene, Vinh-Kim Nguyen, Muna Ndulo

• # 100
  2010 Aug 28-31
  New Approaches in Economics after The Financial Crisis
  C. Jaeger, D. Colander, Th. Lux, D. Mangalagiu

• # 99
  2009 Jun 10-13
  Infection, Inflammation and Chronic Inflammatory Disorders: Common and Divergent Solutions to Problems at the Host-Environment Interface
  S. Ehlers, S. Kaufmann

• # 98
  2008 Dec 14-19
  Is there a Mathematics of Social Entities?
  C. Jaeger, R. Klein

• # 97
  2007 Nov 18-23
  The Globalization of Knowledge
  J. Renn

• # 96
  2005 Jun 12-17
  Integrated History and Future of People on Earth
  R. Costanza

• # 95
  2005  Jan 16-21
  The Dynamic of Fault Zones
  M. Handy

• # 94
  2004 Jun 6-11
  Heuristics and the Law
  C. Engel, G. Gigerenzer

• # 93
  2004 Apr 25-30
  Microcircuits: The Interface between Neurons and Global Brain Function 
  S. Grillner

• # 92
  2003 Sep 28 - Oct 3
  Attachment and Bonding: A New Synthesis
  C. S. Carter / L. Ahnert

• # 91
  2003 May 25-30
  Towards Earth System Analysis
  H. J. Schellnhuber, P. J. Crutzen, W. C. Clark

• # 90
  2002  Jun 23-28
  Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation
  P. Hammerstein

• # 89
  2001 Oct 14-19
  Energy and Mass Transfer in Marine Hydrothermal Systems
  P. Halbach, V. Tunnicliffe

• # 88
  2001 Jun 10-15
  Global Desertification: Do Humans Cause Deserts?
  J. F. Reynolds, M. Stafford Smith

• # 87
  2000 Nov 12-17
  Coping with Challenge: Welfare in Animals Including Humans
  D. M. Broom

• # 86
  2000 Mar 26-31
  Rational Decision-making in the Preservation of Cultural Property
  N. S. Baer, F. Snickars

• # 85
  1999 Dec 12-17
  Science and Integrated Coastal Management
  B. von Bodungen, R. K. Turner

• # 84
  1999 Mar 14-19
  Bounded Rationality: The Adaptive Toolbox
  G. Gigerenzer, R. Selten

• # 83
  1998 May 17-22
  Simplicity and Complexity in Proteins and Nucleic Acids
  H. Frauenfelder, J. Deisenhofer, P. G. Wolynes

• # 82
  1998 Jan 18-23
  Integrating Hydrology, Economic Dynamics, and Biogeochemistry in Complex Landscapes
  J. D. Tenhunen, P. Kabat

• # 81
  1997 Mar 16-22
  The Eradication of Infectious Diseases
  W. R. Dowdle, D. R. Hopkins

• # 80
  1997 Jan 19-25
  Mechanistic Relationships between Development and Learning: Beyond Metaphor
  T. J. Carew, R. Menzel, C. J. Shatz

• # 79
  1996 Mar 3-8
  Saving our Architectural Heritage: The Conservation of Historic Stone Structures
  N. S. Baer, R. Snethlage

• # 78
  1995 Sep 10-15
  The Evolution of the Universe
  S. Gottlöber, G. Börner

• # 77
  1995 May 14-19
  Regulation of Body Weight: Biological and Behavioral Mechanisms
  C. Bouchard, G. A. Bray

• # 76
  1994 Sep 25-30
  Upwelling in the Ocean: Modern Processes and Ancient Records
  C. P. Summerhayes

• # 75
  1994 Apr 24-29
  Aerosol Forcing of Climate
  R. J. Charlson, J. Heintzenberg

• # 74
  1994 Feb 13-18
  Molecular Aspects of Aging
  K. Esser, G. M. Martin

• # 73
  1993 Sep 12-17
  The Role of Nonliving Organic Matter in the Earth's Carbon Cycle
  R. G. Zepp, G. M. Martin

• # 72
  1993 May 9-14
  Flexibility and Constraint in Behavioral Systems
  R. J. Greenspan, C. P. Kyriacou

• # 71
  1993 Feb 28 - Mar 5
  Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Higher Neural Function
  A. I. Selverston, P. Ascher

• # 70
  1992 Dec 6-11
  Durabiliy and Change: The Science, Responsability, and Cost of Sustaining Cultural Heritage 
  W. E. Krumbein

• # 69
  1992 Sep 27 - Oct 2
  Acidification of Freshwater Ecosystems: Implications for the future
  C. E. W. Steinberg, R. F. Wright

• # 68
  1992 May 17-22
  Twins as a Tool of Behavioural Genetics
  T. J. Bouchard Jr., P. Propping

• # 67
  1992 Mar 15-20
  Fire in the Environment: The Ecological, Atmospheric, and Climatic Importance of Vegetation Fires
  P. J. Crutzen, J. G. Goldammer

• # 66
  1991 Dec 8-13
  Global Changes in the Perspective of the Past
  J. A. Eddy, H. Oeschger

• # 65
  1991 Sep 29 - Oct 4
  Exploring Brain Functions: Models in Neuroscience
  T. A. Poggio, D. A. Glaser

• # 64
  1991 Mar 17-22
  Use and Misuse of the Seafloor
  K. J. Hsü, J. Thiele

• # 63
  1990 Dec 9-14
  Limiting Greenhouse Effect: Controlling Carbon Dioxide Emissions
  G. I. Pearman

• # 62
  1990 Aug 5-10
  Neurodegenerative Disorders: Mechanisms and Prospects for Therapy
  D. L. Price, H. Thoenen, A. J. Aguayo

• # 61
  1990 Mar 18-23
  Ocean Margin Processes in Global Change
  R. F. C. Mantoura, J.-M. Martin, R. Wollast

• # 60
  1989 Dec 3-8
  Motor Control: Concepts and Issues
  D. R. Humphrey, H.-J. Freund

• # 59
  1989 Nov 12-17
  Towards a New Pharmacotherapy of Pain
  A. J. Basbaum, J.-M. Besson

• # 58
  1989 May 7-12
  Organic Acids in Aquatic Ecosystems
  E. M. Perdue, E. T. Gjessing

• # 57
  1989 Feb 19-24
  Exchange of Trace Gases between Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Atmosphere
  M. O. Andreae, D. S. Schimel

• # 56
  1988 Nov 27 - Dec 2
  Structure and Function of Biofilms
  W. G. Characklis, P. A. Wilderer

• # 55
  1988 Aug 28 - Sep 2
  Complex Organismal Functions: Integration and Evolution in Vertebrates
  D. B. Wake, G. Roth

• # 54
  1988 Apr 24-29
  Productivity of the Ocean: Present and Past
  W. H. Berger, V. S. Smetacek, G. Wefer

• # 53
  1988 Mar 13-18
  The Environmental Record in Glaciers and Ice Sheets
  H. Oeschger, C. C. Langway Jr.

• # 52
  1987 Dec 6-11
  Etiology of Dementia of Alzheimer's Type
  A. S. Henderson, J. H. Henderson

• # 51
  1987 Nov 1-6
  The Changing Atmosphere
  F. S. Rowland, I.S. A. Isaksen

• # 50
  1987 May 17-22
  Neurobiology of Neocortex
  P. Rakic, W. Singer

• # 49
  1987 Mar 29 - Apr 3
  Humic Substances and Their Role in the Environment
  F. H. Frimmel, R. F. Christman

• # 48
  1986 Oct 26-31
  Biological Perspectives of Schizophrenia
  H. Helmchen, F. A. Henn

• # 47
  1986 Aug 31 - Sep 5
  Sexual Selection: Testing the Alternatives
  J. W. Bradury, M. Andersson

• # 46
  1986 Apr 27-May 2
  Resources and World Development II
  D. J. McLaren, B. J. Skinner

• # 45
  1986 Jan 12-17
  Resources and World Development I
  D. J. McLaren, B. J. Skinner

• # 44
  1985 Dec 8-13
  The Neural and Molecular Bases of Learning
  J.-P. Changeux, M. Konishi

• # 43
  1985 Oct 20-25
  Mechanisms of Cell Injury: Implications for Human Health
  B. A. Fowler

• # 42
  1985 Jun 16-21
  Patterns and Processes in the History of Life
  D. M. Raup, D. Jablonski

• # 41
  1985 Mar 24-29
  Biotechnology: Potentials and Limitations
  S. Silver

• # 40
  1984 Nov 25-30
  The Molecular Mechanism of Photoreception
  H. Stieve

• # 39
  1984 Sep 2-7
  The Importance of Chemical "Speciation" in Environmental Processes
  M. Bernhard, F. E. Brinckmann, P. J. Sadler

• # 38
  1984 Apr 1-6
  Exploitation of Marine Communities
  R. M. May

• # 37
  1984 Jan 15-20
  Microbial Adhesion and Aggregation
  K. C. Marshall

• # 36
  1983 Nov 13-18
  Leukemia
  I. L. Weissman

• # 35
  1983 Oct 23-28
  The Biology of Learning
  P. Marler, H. S. Terrace

• # 34
  1983 May 1-6'
  Patterns of Change in Earth Evolution
  H. D. Holland, A. F. Trendall

• # 33
  1983 Mar 20-25
  Changing Metal Cycles and Human Health
  J. O. Nriagu

• # 32
  1982 Nov 28 - Dec 3
  Minorities: Community and Identity
  C. Fried

• # 31
  1982 Oct 31 - Nov 5
  The Origins of Depression: Current Concepts and Approaches
  J. Angst

• # 30
  1982 May 2-7
  Atmospheric Chemistry
  E. D. Goldberg

• # 29
  1982 Mar 14-19
  Population Biology of Infectious Diseases
  R. M. Anderson, R. M. May

• # 28
  1981 Nov 29 - Dec 4
  Repair and Regeneration of the Nervous System
  J. G. Nicholls

• # 27
  1981 Oct 18-23
  Biological Mineralization and Demineralization
  G. H. Nancollas

• # 26
  1981 May 10-15
  Evolution and Development
  J. T. Bonner

• # 25
  1981 Mar 22-27
  Animal Mind - Human Mind
  D. R. Griffin

• # 24
  1980 Nov 30 - Dec 5
  Neuronal-glial Cell Interrelationships
  T. A. Sears

• # 23
  1980 Sep 1-5
  Mineral Deposits and the Evolution of the Biosphere
  H. D. Holland, M. Schidlowski

• # 22
  1980 Mar 24-28
  Signed and Spoken Language: Biological Constraints on Linguistic Form
  U. Bellugi, M. Studdert-Kennedy

• # 21
  1980 Feb 18-22
  Evolution on Social Behaviour: Hypotheses and Empirical Tests
  H. Markl

• # 20
  1979 Nov 26-30
  Pain and Society
  H. W. Kosterlitz, L. Y. Terenius

• # 19
  1979 Oct 22-26
  The Molecular Basis of Microbial Pathogenicity
  H. Smith, J. J. Skehel, M. J. Turner

• # 18
  1979 May 14-18
  Biomedical Pattern Recognition and Image Processing
  K. S. Fu, T. Pavlidis

• # 17
  1979 Mar 12-16
  The Role of Intercellular Signals: Navigation, Encounter, Outcome
  J. G. Nicholls

• # 16
  1978 Nov 20-24
  Strategies of Microbial Life in Extreme Environments
  M. Shilo

• # 15
  1978 Oct 16-20
  Light-induced Charge Separation in Biology and Chemistry
  H. Gerischer, J. J. Katz

• # 14
  1978 Apr 24-28
  Transport of Macromolecules in Cellular Systems
  S. C. Silverstein

• # 13
  1978 Feb 20-24
  Abnormal Fetal Growth: Biological Bases and Consequences
  F. Naftolin

• # 12
  1977 Nov 28 - Dec 2
  Morality as a Biological Phenomenon
  G. S. Stent

• # 11
  1977 Sep 26-30
  The Bases of Addiction
  J. Fishman

• # 10
  1977 May 9-13
  Neoplastic Transformation: Mechanisms and Consequences
  H. Koprowski

• # 9
  1977 Mar 7-11
  Function and Formation of Neural Systems
  G. S. Stent

• # 8
  1976 Nov 15-19
  Global Chemical Cycles and Their Alterations by Man
  W. Stumm

• # 7
  1976 Sep 27 - Oct 2
  Recognition and Complex Acoustic Signals
  T. H. Bullock

• # 6
  1976 May 17-21
  Organization and Expression of Chromosomes
  V. G. Allfrey, E. K. F. Bautz, B. J. McCarthy,
  R. T. Schimke, A. Tissières

• # 5
  1976 Feb 16-20
  Hormone and Antihormone Action at the Target Cell
  J. H. Clark, W. Klee, A. Levitzki, J. Wolff

• # 4
  1975 Dec 8-12
  Appetite and Food Intake'
  T. Silverstone

• # 3
  1975 Nov 3-7
  The Molecular Basis of Circadian Rhythms
  J. W. Hastings, H.-G. Schweiger

• # 2
  1975 Mar 10-15
  The Nature of Seawater
  E. D. Goldberg

• # 1
  1974 Nov 13-15
  Myelofibrosis-osteosclerosis Syndrome
  R. Burkhardt, S. S. Adler, C. L. Conley,
  T. Pincus, K. Lennert, J. E. Till